Till Death Tear Us Apart
by aki konoe
Summary: GravitationYami no Matusei crossover...Is love enough to save you from death and time itself?
1. Prologue: Answer the phone

Gravitation-Yami no Matsuei Crossover 

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**A/N: **Hello readers!! Announcement: Since you, my readers are eager enough to read my crossover, and due to irresistible temptation to put in limes and lemons… (Yey!!! I know what they mean now!!! ^_^) and due to the boredom in my bedroom which I was confined in after I um… did something… Anyway, before I get carried away, I would like to thank those who approved of this as something interesting to be read… ( I hope) and nice… ^.^ well… I can't really say anything else but… ENJOY!!!

**Warning: **Major Cliffhangers… ^o^ Nasty me…. XD

**Disclaimer: **Do I really have to do this? We all know that this isn't mine… And in the first place if it were mine, would I be writing this anyway? ^.^ Just a thought. Anyway, Yami no Matsuei, and Gravitation are not mine… Thank you, as always… hope you enjoy… ^.^

Yours truly… (and insanely)

Aki Konoe/ devil-angel-asuka

(FOR THE NTH TIME: I AM NOT KONOE KACHOU'S RELATIVE… I GOT MY NAME FROM A CERTAIN GATEKEEPER… AND A CERTAIN SHORT-HAIRED GIRL IN BOYS BE. THANK YOU.)

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**'Till death tear us apart**

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Prologue: Answer the Phone

Sigh.

An uneasy outtake of breath, frustration and stress mingling with the sound, echoing through the now-still room… The blond who was sitting in his desk in a rather uncomfortable manner looked up from the laptop he had been typing into for about---what? 3 hours?--- and placed his eyes upon the door.

Sigh.

He had been doing that same rhythmic gesture, that same sigh, that same looking-up-from-the-laptop-and-onto-the-door and he wasn't even aware that the light overhead had been blinking on-off, on-off, every few minutes.

Sigh.

If anyone was in that room besides him, that person would've stood up, walked up to him, and slapped him on the face, alternating the palm and the outer hand with enough force for each cheek to glow red and to snap him out of his daze. If that person was not in his right state of mind… But if he were, he wouldn't even plan on it.

Sigh.

Another glance… then tap, tap, tap… the sound of the keyboard being stricken by the graceful fingers, fast and expertly gliding over the keys, the blond's eyes on the glowing screen, the familiar characters forming to make the words and to finfish, yet another famous story…

Pause.

And for the nth time, he sighed… looked at the door wistfully and then after a while, proceeded to his work. He remembered the silly argument he had with the pink-haired boy a few days ago… Okay, 15 days ago. Pause.

Sigh-Door-Laptop.

The same ritual… Eiri Yuki, as he was called, had a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach; therefore he was not feeling well. There was something really wrong. He recalled the above mentioned argument, and sighed, yet again… He winced. It wasn't normal to see the writer to react like this… But who had seen him like this? (Just me I guess… Oh okay, so maybe not just me… So sue me!)

Shuichi cares for him too much, and loves him just the same. He hates seeing Yuki not getting any rest or sleep from his work. This was a little matter to Yuki, but it was a big matter for Shuichi, and so, it led to an argument… While Yuki tried to keep his voice toned down, Shuichi had screamed it out loud when Yuki said "What do you care about me?!" That was a mistake, and he knows it. "Because I love you, is that too hard to understand?!"

Okay, enough flashbacks.

The house was a lonely one, well, at least, before the hyperactive, pink-haired vocalist came to visit him after Yuki had stated that the lyrics of his song was… "No talent," the boy was in no state of forgiving him after that and he marched his way to Yuki's house, resulting to Yuki using him as an excuse from his sister… Funny though, after that, everything went… Smooth… (Okay so maybe its not the best word to describe it, but what the hey?) And things became lighter than usual with him around… Now, Shindou Shuichi had settled under the same roof with Yuki.

Another sigh. But this time, instead of looking at the door, he finally decided that he should get out of the room, and out of the house to let his mind ease a little. He stood up, switched the laptop to shutdown after saving his work, and as he turned off the light switch of the room, he mentally reminded himself to change the bulb… He descended the stairs, and when he reached the living room, he plopped himself on the black sofa and closed his eyes. Opening the TV to distract him was no use, because he might just see Shuichi again… and that would make the feeling in his stomach worse.

He was going crazy… At least, that's what he thinks. After a year of living with the boy, he never thought he'd long for anybody's company… nor did thought of caring for anybody… maybe for his siblings, of course, but… a lover?

It's been 15 days, and he is so missing Shuichi. Yes. He misses him.

"Well, duh, it's a music video, you idiot…" Yuki grumbled to himself. "And the trailer breaking down with no mechanic in your midst… Sigh…"

He decided that he should really go out of the house and maybe smoke a bit… besides, Shuichi was not around to make his conscience guilty.

Somehow, somewhere, Shuichi's voice sang out to him as he took off the coat that was hanging at the foot of the sofa, he had left it there 3 nights ago, meaning he hasn't done his laundry because of his sleepless nights and work.

"Ne, Yuki… You know those could kill you. You're poisoning yourself deliberately to make me cry, aren't you?"

And Yuki would just reply in a less cold voice w a slight smile on his face.

"It's my body… And my lungs…"

"I don't want you to die, do I?"

"I dunno… I think you're only in love with my body…" And an evil smile would cross Yuki's face as he puts the stick in between his lips.

"Yuki! Stop that! You know that's not true!"

And he would have to surrender the whole packet as a huge puppy topples him over and sits on top of his back, pinning him to the floor, until he has to shout "TRUCE!"

He reaches the street outside and smiles as he remembers all of it… The cool soft afternoon breeze brushing through his hair… And he loves it.

He was almost going prop the cigarette in his mouth when he stopped midway on a thought. Surely he did not want to hurt Shuichi and make him grief when he dies… he loved the boy too much…

After a while of walking aimlessly, his cellular phone rang.

Shuichi's number blinking on the screen, he smiles and presses a button.

"Hello?"

"Yuki!" Came Shuichi's voice. "Help me!"

…to be continued…

**A/N: **Ha! I'm nasty!!! Wehehehe! Till then!!! I'll continue if you beg for it… ^_^ Nasty me…!!!

Waahahahahahaha!


	2. Go on hit me with a frying pan

'Till Death Tear Us Apart 

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Chapter One: Go on, hit me with a frying pan… 

**Warning:** Cliffie. ^o^ Nasty me. And sleep deprived neko authors.

**Disclaimer:** Yami no Matsuei and Gravitation is not owned by me; I am just borrowing it for some fun. No profits were made.

**Meritite:** Oh, thank you for noticing!!! I'm so thankful, and now, I've fixed it!!! yay!!! I thought it sucked… ^_^ SO I was wondering whether I should upload more… But, here it is, as you wished, chapter one of my TDTUA fic. ^_^

**Roxane1:** Your wish is my command. ^_^ Here's more, more, more!!!

**Anna Sartin:** Pairings: TsuXHi, YukiXShu. I'm a great fan of both series too. ^o^

**Mandernaner:** Ah, my favorite reviewer!!! *looks down on her leg* I'm glad you're here. *pats Manda's head* But it would be better if you let go of my leg so I could go to my computer? Thank you. ^_^ Hope you like this. And because you read my other Yami fic, it'll be much easier for you to understand whom the characters are. (HINT! HINT! HINT!) XD And do you like cliffies? This one has a cliffie. Again. ^o^

**Glass is half empty:** Waaaah! You liked it!!! I thought it sucked!!! Thanks!! ^o^ Thanks for reviewing!

**A/N: **I'm sorry for not updating so long, I have tests, and it kinda got into my schedule. I had this English timeline project, and I'm in charge of the whole thing, from the design and the research, and I had to do this reflection paper of the book, and had to finish my database for my computer subject and had to study for my tests 'coz I suck at Algebra, and I still have to deal with Math for like, another quarter, and lately, I actually failed in my Biology Contest!!! My group won our class contest for two consecutive quarters and it is so unfair to have taken 3rd place right now. We were cheated on!!! And by a mere one point!!! And… and… I had writer's block, everything's down lately. But, here it is, chappy one. Hope you like it. Enjoy!!!

Sincerely,

Aki Konoe

Chapter One: Go on, hit me with a frying pan… 

_"Hello?"_

_"Yuki!" Came Shuichi's voice. "Help me!"_

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**1**

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Yuki stopped dead in his tracks, and dropped the cylinder on the sidewalk.

"Shit." Maybe what he felt this morning was some kind of a sign. He groaned.

"Yuki!" Came Shuichi's voice again. "Are you there? You have got to help me! They said that the taping would take one more week!" He whined.

Yuki let out a sigh of relief. Thank God. He closed his eyes and smiled. Shuichi's all right. _I should've known…_

"What do you want me to do about it?" He started to walk again, looking for a bench. When he saw one, he sat down.

"That's it, I don't know! Ne, Yuki, come and pick me up, will you?" Shuichi pleaded.

"But I can't, Shu-chan, I can't. It's only one more week…" _Oops. Shouldn't have said that._ Yuki thought. _But if I picked you up, an outraged Tohma might kill me._

"ONE MORE WEEK?! I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT AGAIN!"

"It's only one more week, so why don't you just go through it and I'll see what I can do… Okay?"

"…Ok…" Shuichi sniffed.

"Okay, why don't you just do the taping, and when you get back, maybe I could take you out."

Shuichi beamed.

"Really?! You mean, like a date?!"

Sweat drop. "…Yes."

"Ye----sssss!" Shuichi screamed. Yuki had to hold out the phone from his ear as the screaming boy continued to squeal in delight. He had dropped the phone, and Yuki heard him shout with glee and scream and…

Shuichi's screams were so loud that even the passer bys looked at Yuki then at his phone in post-mortem stares. But he just brushed them aside.

Shuichi's shouts were cut abruptly by a loud clank and a loud "BAKA! URUSAI!"

Yuki guessed by the sound of the voice that is was Fujisaki, Tohma's cousin, and Shuichi's band mate. He smiled despite it. Shuichi was still gibbering when he picked the phone but with a cheerful voice, he cooed out.

"Ne, Yuki…"

"Hmm?" Yuki had put the phone back to his ear also, and proceeded to listen to Shuichi.

"Do you really mean it?"

He was serious. No more whines, no hesitations… He wanted to know whether it was Yuki who was really talking to him and not some possessed human being.

"Baka…"

"Tell me Yuki, would you really take me out to a date…?"

"Yes."

"Wai!!! I'll make it really good so that they let me off early!!! I'll do my very best not to take too many shoots!!!"

"Good luck…" Yuki was really changing from Mr. Freeze… to Mr. Not-so-cold-but-still-sporting-a-negative-degrees-celcius-temperature…

"I need to go now!!! Ai-shi-te-ru, Yuki…" Shuichi sang out.

Could Yuki say it? Could he really? He had before, but… He still had a hard time saying it… Oh well.

"I love you too, Shuichi…"

And with that, Shuichi had merrily said good-bye, and they clicked both their phones off. It was fun while it lasted… Now Yuki felt more and more longing… Could it be? Nah…

+*+*+*+*+*+

"Mou Fujisaki-kun… Why'd you have to hit me so hard?" Shuichi whined pathetically from where he sat. Namely, the floor of the trailer, where he was sporting a huge ice packet on the left side of his head.

Fujisaki, his eyes closed, arms crossed in front of his chest, and nose upturned indignantly huffed and said nothing.

"It could've been better you know, if it weren't a frying pan!" Shuichi grumbled some more, shifting the ice packet higher on his head, ignoring the drip-drip-drip of the water spilling out of it.

"You were too noisy. And irritating. And not to mention, making a huge mess."

Shuchi looked up at him from the floor and grinned despite the now cold stare Fujisaki was giving him. Just thinking of the date he would be having with Yuki after his was enough to make him forget that he did have a huge gigantic and gargantuan lump on his head… Throbbing mercilessly and painfully. (Which of course, due to his quick, healing powers. Would disappear in time for the taping… Don't worry people…)

"Ne, Shu-chan, Fujisaki-kun… I bought some---What the hell happened here?" Hiro demanded mildly as he entered the trailer. He looked at one very incensed Fujisaki and one glazed over Shuichi who was still holding the ice packet on a very large lump.

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**2**

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"Ne, Shu-chan, Fujisaki-kun… I bought some---What the hell happened here?" Hiro was not exactly sure what to say at the moment. His best friend had a huge lump on his head, Fujisaki was almost as if he was a statue the way he sat in his chair not moving or talking… Could it get any more worse?!

It was a horrible day, he could tell, because just then, a tuft of smoke emerged from somewhere and…

"Who the hell left bread inside the microwave oven?!" Does he really have to go through this? Does he really have to stand this kind of cooperation between his band mates? Okay, so maybe Shuichi and Fujisaki do not get along very well, but at times they can really be that close… Maybe it was just because Shuichi was a big puppy while Fujisaki was a slightly irritated cat. Or maybe it was just because they weren't really supposed to be together… Or maybe it was his fault really for not doing anything to help them get a long… Or maybe--- maybe---

 "Oh… Gomen ne, Hiro… I was the one who did…" Shu-chan beamed at him.

And did Shuichi really think that he could get off that easily?

"Why don't I fix it? I'm sorry… I was busy at the time…"

Sweatdrop. Well, he was right. Hiro sighed in defeat. Shuichi can be a doll at times… and also a huge pain in the neck if he couldn't help it.

"What were you doing exactly that had you putting that ice packet on your head anyway?"

"Fujisaki-kun hit me with a frying pan!!!" Shuichi pointed at said frying pan with quivering fingers and eyes brimming with tears, lower lip trembling with sympathetically faked attempt of looking pitiful.

"Ne, Fujisaki, why'd you have to do that?"

"Yeah!" Shuichi added.

"Zip it." Hiro shot Shuichi a glare.

"He was being noisy, okay? I was trying to work here, and here he comes screaming his lungs out! He's irritating me! And since I know I shouldn't have done it and since you wouldn't let me off unless I say I'm sorry, I would, okay? But if he says sorry first."

Fujisaki looked indignantly at Hiro then at Shuichi.

"Shu-chan…?"

"Hai… hai… Fujisaki-kun, gomen ne… Sorry for bothering you… Anyway, I really don't care about it! So Come on!!! Who's up for a snack?!" Shuichi jumped to his feet, setting the packet aside and pulling on the arms of two very reluctant and very perplexed (bi) shounens… Who just looked at each other then at Shuichi who merely grinned at their inquiring looks

+*+*+*+*+*+

There could be no mistaking it. Today was going to be… better… Of course, why shouldn't it be?

The birds were chirping, the sun shining, and no one could come between her and her coffee… Her grandé choco frapp with extra whipped cream (topped with chocolate chip afterwards when she gets back to the office and glazed with chocolate syrup thanks to Tsuzuki…) was almost in her grasp when something she really gets irritated with happened.

Her cellular phone was ringing. And at that moment she wished she had just left it so that she had a reason to say that she didn't hear it…

Really, didn't they know that calling her in such an ungodly hour and in her case at the moment, a very cherished and well-awaited one meant their death? (Or in this case, a second death.)

Ring…Ring…Ring…

She should ignore it. Really. The shadow master couldn't possibly do anything to her, can he?

Ring...Ring…Ring…

A nagging sound… Oh conscience… And the image of Tatsumi lingering in her head with that stern face and ever so calm features with the shadows rubbing their hands together and laughing in silence wasn't helping at all. But it was coffee, oh sweet coffee… Right in front of her eyes… Oh… But the thought of no early morning (and free) doughnuts was more than enough torture so she gave up and reached in her coat pocket to get the phone.

She was just about to pick it up when the lady wearing the Starbucks uniform called her name from over the head of early morning caffeine addicts… For a wild moment, she thought whether the lady herself was a caffeine addict to get the job… What can she do? Her coffee was stronger than any shadow master… hell with his lecture later. She was a child, for Pete's sake… and a very unstoppable coffee addict…

She took the drink in her hands, and paid the right amount of money for it, ignoring her cellular phone. It was her old cellular phone; she couldn't possibly give it up… Though it held some very ugly memories that only came back to her now she was dead, it had helped her throughout her missions a lot and saved her neck because of it… So she still insisted that she use it. But with it came the early morning calls and the late night check-up, which really got to her nerves… Ah, being a shinigami wasn't just an 8 to 5 job, was it?

 Ring…Ring…Ring…

Oh what the hell?! All right! For Pete's sake, all right!!!

"What's up?"

"If you don't hurry up, you're going to be late, you do know that we have a meeting today?" Tatsumi's lucid voice said.

Eyes rolled exasperatedly in their sockets and sighed silently.

"What? Who? Moi?" She cooed innocently.

"Innuendos are unnecessary young lady."

"Maa, maa, Tatsumi-san, you know you can be so mean sometimes… What made you think that? Don't worry, I'm on my way."

"On your way out the door of one particular coffee shop. Namely Starbucks."

"Oh whatever do you mean?"

"I am saying that no matter how you deny it, the sound of the people in the background definitely tells me that you are in Starbucks."

"Oh."

And at that, she heard a man callout "One double espresso!"

She shrugged. "Okay, you win, I'm sorry. I'm on my way there. Really. No more detours… just leave some doughnuts for me, please?"

"Fine. Just get yourself up here. Now."

"Merci!" She said brightly.

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**3**

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There was no denying it… The child has made a huge improvement… When she first came here, she had been almost like Hisoka, being the now youngest shinigami in their division… they had almost sent her on, if it wasn't for her sudden outburst and sudden display of power when they said she'd be a mindless spirit if they she didn't let them send her on… It was a riot at that time…About 5 shinigamis of a different division got injured due to it and even some memory lapses was showered on those poor souls… Until Hisoka and Tsuzuki had been assigned to it…

Sigh.

Tatsumi rubbed at his temples. He waited for the rest of the staff to calm down. The child had just rushed in, ran to the nearest doughnut, the last doughnut, which was almost in Tsuzuki's mouth and she snatched it with a flourished "Please! Doughnut! Merci!" in her chibi neko mode. Tail wagging; she sat down happily sipping her coffee and munching on her doughnut.  Wakaba offered some more from her own plate and she gladly accepted. Much to Terazuma's protests…

Amethyst eyes looked at her in retort, but said neko just grinned and munched while shaking a finger in front of his face. Blackmail was clearly seen in her eyes, a dangerous smile curling in her lips. Even Hisoka, who was now a bit red in the face, nudged Tsuzuki to shut up or else, she was willing to do something they surely wouldn't like… And with a piercing stare from her, Tsuzuki understood and surrendered.

The inu chibi Tsuzuki appeared in a loud POOF! And his ears drooped and eyes big and watery, he jumped on Hisoka's lap; and Hisoka, was now turning crimson. But he let the inu stay in his lap anyway.

"Now, could all of you please listen, Tsuzuki-kun, if you would please stop doing that, and listen for a while, it would be better…" And with that, Tsuzuki reluctantly jumped off Hisoka's lap. "Thank you. Now, please, listen, Hisoka-kun, you and Tsuzuki would be going down to Chijou today to… ah… send a soul on… She certainly is stubborn… Just like her…" he gestured towards the  neko who was happily munching. Saya and Yuma scratched her ears, and she purred in delight.

"Tatsumi-san! Can't I go?!" He forgot, feline ears can hear almost anything…

"No." he said quite sternly, facing her.

"But---"

"No."

"But---I---I---- awww… Tatsumi-san!" She whined.

"Hisoka-kun, its better that you read that in Chijou, she might do something now… And keep both your shields up... Mental and emotional." He warned.

Hisoka and Tsuzuki exchanged glances. Is it what they thought it was?

The two knew when to follow Tatsumi's orders thoroughly. Thank goodness little chibi neko was busy with the attention given to her by the other fellow shinigamis… Even Terazuma couldn't resist patting her little head.

"It's for her own good." Tatsumi said.

"Hai." And with that, the partners went for the door.

"Wait." A voice said. The both of them turned. Tatsumi stood frozen, in his place.

"What do you think you're doing?"

~To be continued~****

 **A/N:** Okay, chapter one finished, chapter two starting… I'm sorry for the title… I just couldn't think of anything else… Suggest some title or give me song titles and movie titles and I'll make a story from that… What about it? And I'm really sorry, I can't really say who she is, but i think Manda knows who she is now… Either of the two, Manda… Its better I don't say because it'll spoil my other Yami story… This is somehow connected with it… Since _____ is with _____ and ____ will be_____ and if ____ doesn't____ it's going to be hard… And complicated… And so_____ will be_____ and… Just wait and see…

But first before I go here are the:

**Questions from the insane mind of Aki Konoe:**

**1.Do you think Shinigamis can die again?**

**2.Do you want me to reveal right away who 'she' is?**

**3.Do you guys want lotsa gore and angst?**

**4.Yuki torture!!! Who's up for Yuki torture?!**

Shuichi: Me! Me! He tortures me most of the time, before we---

Aki: NOT THAT KIND OF TORTURE, YOU HENTAI!!!

Shuichi: Aww… Too bad…

Aki: I'll get back at you later for some ideas on the lemon…****

Shuichi: Wai!!! Hooray!

**5. AS you heard, lemon… Yes, lemon… Now, Manda, you said you'd help me… And of course, it wouldn't hurt for some suggestions in the plot… So… I ask you, the readers, what do you think would happen next?**

**6.Demons! Who likes demons! Or demi-goddesses/gods running around? (Because I do…)**

**7.Seventh question… Song insertions… Do you want song insertions?**

**8.Who can give me lotsa movie and Song titles so that I could write up the following chapters? And of course, add the directors and singers for the disclaimer… Thanks!!!**

**9.Do you want me to continue, really? And did my prologue suck? And do you likey the cliffies? ^o^**

**10.Hmm…How about Tsuzuki and Hisoka torture…? Nah… Muraki wouldn't be around that much… But he will make an appearance… How about torture for the unidentified girl? ^o^ I know some of you likes torture… I mean I do hope so…**

**A/N: **Anyway, thank you for reviewing and I really do hope you guys don't kill me… Thanks!!! Ai-Shi-TE-RU, Minna-san!!! ^o^


	3. Boxed, bowed, and giftwrapped

wGravitation-Yami no Matsuei Crossover 

**Author: Aki Konoe, devil-angel-asuka, darkness1315**

**Warning: **Cliffies? Mad Tatsumi-san?

**Disclaimer: **Uh…. They are not mine? Just my Ocs.

**A/N: I'm handing out plushies! Here!**

**Shu-chan:** Hontoni go-busata shite imasu!!! I was really busy… School and stuff…. I don't even have a vacation! Belated happy birthday though! What plushie do you want?

**Master of Buttons:** Yeah, I know you changed your name, but I forgot. Sorry. Ookami… L.S. Atarashii? Ah, I forgot, sorry. Thanks for reviewing though! And Thanks for agreeing to help me! You get a tsuzuki plushie… or you could trade it in the next time you review to change it!

**Meritite:** No Ocs?!? Why?! You're baaaaaaaaaaaaad! puts She is very, very important! You are so bad! Kidding. Oh, that character is from my other Yami fic… since this is sorta like the sequel… Yeah… that's it… right… here… choose a plushie… Hisoka or Tsuzuki?

**neji: **ne, neji-kun, thanks for the suggestions… I'll try, really, and so… well… I could… but well… Oh, if I try to ask duo-chan he might just hit me on the head with a frying pan… 4-some sounds good to me… anyway, I'll try to squeeze in THAT torture… want kaoru to do it to you though?

Kaoru: AKI?! YOU HENTAI! ASUKA GET OUT OF AKI NOW!

Asuka: JUST KIDDING!

Aki: that hurt… you hentai no baka! Anyway, neji-kun, a plushie for being so kind!

**Yami no Koneko: **Thanks for answering my ridiculous questions and for reviewing! Have a Hisoka plushie! hands Yami no Koneko one like it? I made him make it for you!

**ManderNaner:** You are my favourite reviewer besides YukaYuka, shu-chan, Meritite and neji-kun! Take some rest okay? You need it. Thanks for brightening up my day! (your review made me laugh all the way down to my next class that day) here, have this wonderfully, handcrafted Hisoka plushie!

'Till Death tear us apart Chapter 2: Boxed, bowed and gift-wrapped 

**1**

Laden in front of him were the remnants of his tie… That and the few pieces of the folder he had earlier carried. It was very unprofessional of him to play a little tug-of-war with a fifteen-year-old, and it was really a sight to see, because, for once, he had lost all his dignity and air in front of his whole division. He had been a laughing stock for the short time of it… He was flushed up to the roots of his hair, and almost yelled out an oath to the now fervent teenager.. Peeking at him from underneath the cover of arms and bodies, she whispered a shaky apology, and she tried to push her way out of the tangle of arms. But they held her down… (Well, except for Hisoka who stood in the corner shaking from the intensity of his ire, and a small twitch mark getting larger and larger by the second.) Tatsumi, when at that state of anger was not to be talked, or be neared to, much more, even looked at… The shadows behind him were holding up death scythes and obsidian knives, awaiting hi orders. After a while of pleading from Watari who had just stumbled upon the incident in time, he dismissed the shadows and he let himself be escorted out the door.

Sighs and sweat dropped from every person, and finally, they retreated and turned around to look if the child was still okay. Fortunately, she was fine, and Hisoka was the first one to react… Or… rather, berate the child, since after all, she was under her custody and he was her guardian, and full-time parent, more or less.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Hisoka was outraged. He was literally surrounded by the ethereal flames that had magically appeared, and the teenager wondered when Hisoka got so big that he almost hit the ceiling.

"Don't shout too much, 'Soka-chan…" Tsuzuki sidled his way to the kid on the floor, who was whimpering now, tears falling from her emerald green eyes. She hiccupped once or twice, and buried herself in Tsuzuki's trench coat lapels.

"Are you seriously trying to get fired or what?!"

Wakaba and Terazuma decided to escape, but Hisoka had stopped them. "HALT!" was the only word needed to glue them into place. Saya and Yuma, the Hokkaido twins, didn't bother to get out of the door; instead, they smiled desperately at the blond who nevertheless acknowledged their presence being guilty.

"Who told you people to tolerate such illicit behaviour?!" Hisoka toned down a little. As in 'a little', milimitere would do it.

"Hi-chan… Gomen ne…"

Hisoka turned to face her and scowled.

"Everyone, I apologize…. I shouldn't've…" Glancing around at her colleagues and looking up at Hisoka, she pleaded.

"Well, you better be…. What were you thinking? DO you seriously want to be suspended? Good thing Kachou isn't here!"

"Soka-chan, not too loud…" Tsuzuki cooed.

"Shut up." Hisoka looked at Tsuzuki then shifted his gaze once more on the child who stood up, and approached him.

"What do you think---" He was cut short as he was embraced and somehow, returned to his original state of height and his normal face. Or rather, he returned to his old scowling face, less the flames and the fiery eyes.

"I'll go to Tatsumi-san now." She let go of Hisoka and proceeded to walk to the table where Tatsumi's tie and remaining of the papers he held earlier was, and with a wave of her hand, it connected back again, and all of them were shifted to the place where they have first been; Wakaba and Terazuma at the staff table, with Saya and Yuma, Hisoka and Tsuzuki almost at the door. They all looked at her silently in awe as he went to Tatsumi's office.

A sigh escaped Hisoka's lips and Tsuzuki hugged him in response.

"She is just too much work…"

"She's still a child… Though she is fifteen, she still needs to work out a lot of things… Kind of reminds me of someone I know…" A teasing smile played on Tsuzuki's lips and Hisoka couldn't help but give Tsuzuki a smile back, and a pinch on the arm.

There was a knock on the door of his office; Watari had been the one who opened it. He didn't bother to see who it was; he had a huge migraine and it would worsen if she suddenly biursts in; had she found out what the information written on the paper was, it would be a huge disaster, and she might go and seek out the soul herself. And EnmaDaiOh would call for him, and Kachou might even fire him (was it possible?) and who knows what they would do to him?

"Tatsumi-san…" Emerald green eyes looked at him nervously, searching him of any shadow the lingered by, and he reluctantly looked up.

She handed him his tie and the folder, all put back together and he had to do a double take.

"I'm so sorry, please forgive me… It's just that I don't get to go to missions lately… and I… I'm sorry…"

Tatsumi meanwhile looked at his tie, tugging at both ends to see if he was just imagining it or not. "Ai, how did you…?"

"I must go now." She ran out of the door before Tatsumi could utter another word. Tatsumi looked back at her then at Watari who was looking at the tie, confusion clear on his face. Raising an eyebrow, he asked Tatsumi a silent inquiry.

"She had gone stronger…" Was all Tatsumi could say.

**2**

The eternal sky was looking down at her making her guilt worsen and her conscience scream with mixed emotions, the sun a haze of colours and light, a sudden cruelty brushing on her skin as if to say that she had sinned. And it seems that even the birds are conspiring against her also, having one of them peck on her hair as she climbed on of the sakura trees that adorned the pathway leading to JuuOhCHo. Sighing she let herself fall into the ocean of mist she had surrounded herself with, feeling the cool air she had felt yesterday, when she climbed up the tree down in Chijou. She had acted out immaturely and another sigh resound her thoughts. She lied down on the tree she had climbed up on and decided to sleep, or rather, close her eyes and maker her mind blank for a while, but still aware in case thoughts or the haunting came back again. Just in case.

"Oi."

Her eyes snapped open and she slipped, fortunately, she was caught by one swift scientist who calls himself Watari, accompanied by the ever-so-loyal owl, 003. She smiled weakly.

"Thanks.''

"No problem."

"Why are you here anyway?" She brushed off the leaves on her black turtleneck as Watari put her down.

"Just wanted to talk to you… You certainly cracked Tatsumi there." Watari grinned at her. But she didn't grin back.

"He's mad at me, isn't he?" She looked at Watari expectantly. Watari started to shake his head in disagreement and she had to raise her eyebrow to get him nodding in the process.

"Just a little." Watari finally sighed. "Don't worry, it seems like nothing bad happened… Well, as far as I know, what he feared to happen didn't happen anyway…"

"I ruined his tie…" She pouted and sat down on the grass, head in her hands.

"Don't worry about his tie… Besides, you've fixed it already, right??"

"…"

"Oh come on, cheer up dear…"

"How am I supposed to when I know even Hi-chan is mad at me…?"

"How about we go up to my lab and get some chocolates first?"

Despite the gloomy face, two furry tufted out of her hair, twitching in anticipation, and she let Watari steer her into the building.

Another morning had started: he had slept the whole afternoon yesterday. Sighing heavily as he heaved himself out of the suddenly too large bed, he caught sight of the picture frame that reminded him unmercifully of his love. Groaning now, he slipped out of the covers and went down the stairs to get some coffee. _It's been seventeen days… and he's still not here…_ He mused. Glancing at the clock in the kitchen, he noticed the small pink Posy-it note on the refrigerator door, reminding him to eat on time.

He really should get out of the house. Too much Shuichi-ness might drive him crazy… Actually, it had driven him crazy; he found himself immersed with Shuichi's picture in the living room, mug in the other hand, and picture frame in the other; he had even developed a sort of amnesia… But it only made him forget about himself and everything else---except for Shuichi. He had only donned a black robe, which was half-open, and Shuichi's favourite bunny slippers. And they were baby pink. With purple hearts.

His phone rang.

He walked to his coat and took out his cell phone. Funny, it wasn't ringing, no flashing numbers on the screen, but something is ringing. He searched for something but he couldn't find any phone that was ringing. That was weird. _I must be hallucinating…_ He said to himself.

He placed his mug down on the table and rubbed his eyes. He shuddered involuntarily as he walked up the stairs. Something had passed him by, sort of like a gust of wind, or maybe he really was going crazy… He heard a distant giggle and he had to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming or not.

"Must've been the wind."

If she was in the right mood and was with the right person, she would've enjoyed the day the right way. Normally, kids her age played pranks on elders. Well, she was a 12-year-old with no prior experience on such things; it was rather absurd. Really. But since today was a day to finally let out and feel free, she didn't care. She carried out her little prank, (if you would consider it as one) making her cell phone ring and making her victim think that there were ghosts in the room; she was surprised that the writer even heard it. And I must say that it was pretty good, having her prey scared and almost believe that he was going crazy. Technicalities apply. (As if.) Unfortunately, he dismissed it, thinking that it _was_ the wind, or rather convinced himself that it _was…_ Pouting she thought of something as sat on the black sofa of the spacious living room.

Yes, she was fully aware that she was dead. No, not metaphorically. She was dead, as in the kind of dead where her body is lying six feet under, cold, stiff, eyes wide shut, slain, the like. And she was also aware that she was now officially a ghosts. A wandering spirit. And for a wandering one, she had pretty good taste in places to go. The writer, being popular and all, was, truth be told, gorgeous. And his lover was cute too. Though she'd rather have the guitarist of BadLuck to herself… But Hiroshi was occupied already. And besides, she was still young. She sighed, smiling at the thought of Ai seeing her in Eiri Yuki's house. But she still had to deal with those guys with the neckties and carrying those---those---what were they called again? She knows she had read it somewhere… Ah! Ofudas. Right. But she could go and see her… Some way or another… She did say she was a Shinigami… That is, before she and her parted ways…

She had just thought of a way to see her when another one of 'Those Pesky Guys Wearing Suits' approached her. At their first few words, she cut them short and pointed her pistol at the both of them. Black-haired, (as she observed since they seemed to be twins, and the hair was the only thing that you could distinguish them with) mumbled something to his twin, the brown-haired one, and nodded.

"Good day to you, Shijiku-san." Black-haired said looking for the right words to say to a (currently dead) 12-year-old who was as stubborn as a mule.

"As the weather had confirmed, good day to you too." Shijiku, as she was addressed, replied, sarcasm present in her voice. She smiled jovially at the two.

"You are aware that we are here to… ah… send you on." Brown-haired said as he moved closer to her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Heard it from the other three pairs whom I both shot… hmmm… at least twelve times each… Couldn't you give me more time?" She leant back casually, looking up at the two.

"I'm afraid not." Brown-haired said, eyeing her.

"Why?" She pouted, her big blue eyes suddenly brimming with (fake) tears, and clutching her pistol to her chest.

"You don't belong here, Shijiku-san." Balck-haired said.

"Fine! Then I'll make you let me stay!" She spat out, levelling the gun at their chests, (she carried a lot of bullets) she shot the both of them consequently shooting from one to the other. Thankfully, back up came. Two other shinigamis from the Shokan division appeared from thin air. Tsuzuki had run to the twins to help, and fortunately, they were not severely wounded, since both of them had good reflexes. The hole on the black-haired shinigami's arm was healing already, and his brother's right shoulder was starting to gather flesh. Hisoka approached the offending child whose head was now bowed, black hair hiding her face, reloading her gun. Beside her, Hisoka noted, was a red package, a gift-wrapped box tied with a red ribbon. He didn't recognize the child since his own child had distracted them from reading the file Tatsumi gave them earlier.

"'Soka-'nii chan?!? Nice to see you!" Came the wry greeting.

Shijiku Suki was no problem to talk to since she knew of the job, having to hear the same thing from the others who came to banish her. She had been waiting all that time and she said she had to shoot six other Shinigamis while she waited for Ai to do the job. Hisoka was relieved a little since he didn't have to do anything drastic and she even asked how Ai was doing.

Before she moved on, however, (the twins escorted her, since they insisted) she had asked them to do something.

In Hisoka's hands he held a small box wrapped in red tissue paper and a red ribbon, and he reluctantly brought it up to Meifu. Tsuzuki followed him to Watari's lab, where Ai was currently indulging herself with sweets. (The chocolate muffins were safe at least…)

Emerald green met Hisok'as own and Tsuuzki's amethyst; both looked grim, she thought. She offered some sweets, but both declined. Quirking an eyebrow, she asked what's the matter. Hisoka handed her the package in silence, his lips a thin line and he watched Ai's pure delight from the time she unwrapped it and to the time that smile faded in utter confusion. Then it sank in. She bolted up and ran from what she saw on the table, placed upon the billows of the red wrapping.

Suki's necklace.

**3**

A sweet yet sadistic smile crawled over pale lips. He laughed in pure delight he witnessed his plan going through as it was intended. Everything was falling into place. Delicate fingers encircled themselves around the porcelain doll's head, earlier abandoned by its owner. And as he caught sight of its green eyes, he crushed the head ever so slowly. The distraction had gone. Now, the bait… Then the prey.

"It has begun." He said to the awaiting servant. "You shall ring the Bell."

"When shall we begin our next move sire?" "It" asked, blue eyes gleaming in the darkness, features concealed in the blanket of shadows.

"Soon."

"Do you think she'll get over it?" A loving hand placed itself upon tensed shoulders, trying to calm the waters of shared grief.

"I really can't tell." Came the sombre reply. "Suki was important to her."

Tsuzuki Asato was not much of a parent, but he knows what Ai must be feeling. The year before was just like yesterday to him, even to Hisoka, and he knows that the boy had been endeared to the child that he was almost a parent to her himself; and last year's events had been heartbreaking to Ai that she had asked EnamaDaiOh to seal her own subconscious. She has been thorugh enough, and having Suki die like this, was too much. He squeezed Hisoka's shoulder and looked outside the iwndow of their office, watching the solemn figure lying on the green grass. He could almost feel the same tears fall down his own face, and indeed there were tears, trailing soft marks on his cheeks. He shifted his weight uneasily.

"Hisoka?" he asked the uneasily behind the younger Shinigami. Looking down he noticed that his stance was now sharper.

"You let your shields down. You know perfectly well that she affects people. Her powers are uncontrolled as of now." Hisoka's orbs rolled to the right corner of his eyes to glance at Tsuzuki.

"So that means…?" tsuzuki looked around. The Hokkaido twins were sulking, tissues clutched in their hands, occasionally sniffing at their respective desks. (terazuma and Wakaba had work to do in Chijou.) Even 003, who was earlier fluttering around happily had stopped and was staring outside too, persched on a pile of folders on Watari's desk. Tsuzuki wasn't sure if that counted since owls and experiments don't have feelings, do they?

"Yes."

"But maybe…"

"There is no maybe. She will. She must." Watari's voice rang out from behind them. His eyes were red at the rims and it wasn't really comfortable seeing him so grim and unsmiling that Tsuzuki had to look down on his shoes.

"What do you mean 'she must'?" Tsuzki glanced at Hisoka hesitatingly.

"Come with me to the staff room. Kachou is here."

Hisoka wasn't listening. When Tszuzuki turned, he was gazing outside when all of a sudden he ran to the hallway, panic present in his voice.

"She's going down to Chijou!"

Spontaneous Combustion. That's a good title for a song. Hmmm… Now the lyrics…

_Whisper the words I want to hear_

_ Hold me tight, don't say goodnight_

_ Kiss me now, don't leave me here_

"Hmmm… Good enough… I guess," tapping the pen on the table, a rhythm was made. Then he stopped.

Frowning, he stood up from the chair, and opened the door of the trailer. Feeling much better now since the lump Fujisaki had given him yesterday when he hit him with a frying pan was now gone, and the thought of going back to Yuki in three days (as far as what his manager told him) was more than enough to make him hop along the road. Smiling cheerfully now, he trotted to a small shop. Hiro said he'd be back with dinner and Fujisaki had gone to check out the new Music store. As he entered the dark hallway adorned by glass cases, trotting on the wood floor and glancing at his sides, he felt a shiver crawl down his spine. He continued to walk and walk, and it seems that what little light he saw was slowly dissipating as he walked further. Then it happened. He felt it.

_He was falling._

**to be continued**

**A/N:** Nasty, ain't I? XD Do you guys smell something fishy though? evil smile**** May the cliffies and VHãä appear. XD

**Questions from the insane mind of Aki Konoe:**

**1.okay… who can tell me the whole story of X/1999**

**2.Who is Shuichi's manager?**

**3.Any cure for claustrophobia yet?**

**4.Do you like this chapter?**

**5.Is Tasumi being unfair or not?**

**6.Is Hisoka being unfair or not?**

**7.What do you think happened to Shuichi?**

**8.Isn't Yuki going insane?**

**9.Have you guessed what my Vague Hint is?**

**10.Can anyone suggest me good websites for Yami no Mastuei, X, and Gravitation? And Angel Sanctuary?**

**THANKYOU!!!******


	4. That I will be Good

**Gravitation-Yami no Mastuei Crossover**

**Title: 'Till Death Tear Us Apart**

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**Author:** Aki Konoe/ darkness1315/ devil-angel-asuka

**Warning:** Not telling.

**Disclaimer:** The title for this chapter got ripped off from a book about Queen Victoria and I owe the publishers and the writer of the book for inspiring me in some mystical way for this fic

**Word Count Statistics:** 27 pages; 12,326 words; 55,163 characters; 184 paragraphs; 1,401 lines (I was bored, so sue me!)

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**Author's Note/s:** To my very first muse, **Kelly-sama** (or if you know her by her screen name, **Kyo-kun, or Shiozaki**), I dedicate this chapter for introducing me to the colourful world of your OCs, and for the wonderful and one-of-a-kind journey through that land you created for them. (Your fics were the very first lemons I have ever read. Ever. No kidding.) You led me to another road and filled my need for un-cliche-d, unordinary, out of the norm, unique, and uncensored stories. I'd rather be anything than ordinary so I seek stories like yours. (Or maybe I just read too much of Ludlum and Stephen King.) Anyway, I thank you also for letting me see the other side of uniqueness, and your stories are my faithful companions as I go through my depressions and shameful weaknesses every day. Like you, I pour my self into my stories, and I try to get comfort by writing, and I thank you for encouraging me in a way, and being my unrelenting, understanding, and unequalled confidante. I trust you with my life, as I have trusted those who are closest and loved. This arc of my three-part fic I dedicate to you. (I swear, I never copied you, I swear, that's how it turned out, so don't kill me!) Long live Yaoi, and long live writers all over the world.

To my other muse, **Mandernaner**, my sweet, sweet reader who does not cease to review, I thank you. I dedicate this fic to you also, and I am very thankful to have you as a muse. You are one of those whom I hold close to my heart, and I am very thankful to have you there, encouraging me to write as well. **Atra gülai un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse skölir frá rauthr. **(Let luck and happiness follow you and may you be shielded from misfortune.) I hope all the blessings of the God almighty be bestowed upon you and guide you.

To my two confidantes, **Shu-chan (the annoying) and Neji-kun (the annoyed),** I am happy to have you two as my friends, and I must say that even if we really don't know each other, I feel as if you two are one of my closest friends. (Be very glad.) I thank you for supporting me. I sympathise with you, Neji-kun. One question though: How could you put up with Shu-chan? It's surprising that they haven't canonised you as a martyr yet. Blessings to you two.

To **all the readers** I thank you for giving me your time by reading this fic. I thank you, (if ever) for your reviews. I thank you so much, and I hope you'll stay with me until the end. If you want to kill me, be my guest. But don't be surprised if I don't die. Hope you review. Thank you again, and God bless.

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**'Till Death Tear Us Apart**

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**Chapter 3: That I will be good**

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**1**

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From where the weather always seemed perfect, obscured by the shadows that enshrouded his seat from prying eyes, the face of the great God of the Dead, Enma-Daioh, looked worried. His right hand rested casually over the arm of his dais; fingers splayed idly. The recollection of the past year and the memories that refused to be forgotten and remained in the minds of the ones who have lived from the Beginning and wait until the End, was enough to remind him that this was _the_ Time. His other hand lay enticingly on his cheek, if not thoughtfully, darkly thinking over the consequences of the action he was about to make.

He had witnessed the little show down in the Shinigami's office. The Time was about to come, and he will have to do something about it. The whole world will suffer greatly, if he must fail to make the right decision. _The Time is near._ He thought as he remembered those words which was never recorded or spoken to anyone but him.

"The Time is near indeed..."

**2**

Sunlight spilled delicately over the carpeted floor of the faint yellow room, adding a warm effect to the atmosphere that threatened to change anytime if he didn't make any effort to acknowledge it. He sat up in bed, the pool of bed sheets and blankets in his lap; a pillow clutched by his trembling hands. He wiped the sweat that forged a sticky film on his forehead. He glanced around and for the first time he observed the milieu. Where were the small table and the cushy seats of the tour bus? Where did the synths and amps go to? Where was everybody? Where was the tour bus? When his brain was sure that it could work now, he then recalled that they had, indeed, checked in that hotel approximately three hours ago, him being half-alive with Hiroshi carrying him and his feet sliding over the carpet of the halls and onto the bed. He looked around and saw that the room was just like any other hotel room, consisting of twin beds, one occupied by himself; a balcony lay invitingly on his left side, offering him an Arcadian view of green grass and trees. A simple door stood opposite him, not a few paces from where his bed was, which annexed to another room; the cheap, wooden coffee table placed near the balcony's glass doors with a cushioned chair and a vase with some flowers in it. His luggage, he suspected, Hiroshi had packed away in the provided closets somewhere and if he could only get his stubborn legs to stand up and walk... He'd be able to know where it was. He glanced at the clock on the single-drawer table on his right and saw that he had been sleeping for three hours. It was already four in the afternoon. He should get up. Besides, he was getting hungry. With much effort he stood up, letting go of the aforementioned pillow. Instinctively he turned to his right and went to the bathroom, which was on the opposite side of the closets in the hall leading to the main door of the room.

Hiroshi and Fujisaki weren't around now, and he felt more than devastated to have someone with him at the moment. Before he turned to his right to enter the bathroom though, he noticed a Post-It note stuck on the inside of the main door. He smiled faintly. _Of all the places to put a memo, it had to be the door..._ He read off Hiroshi's familiar scrawl on the yellow square paper:

_Shu-chan, we'll be back in a few hours; Fujisaki checked out a new music store, I'll be looking for food. Sakano said he needed to find K-san. So make sure you take very good care of yourself and don't do anything stupid._

_Love,_

_Hiro_

He caught sight of his reflection and sighed. He couldn't help thinking of Yuki. The image in the mirror was his, and he could recognise his own face very well, thank you. Remnants of his grievous dream still lingered threateningly in front of his eyes, and he stared for a minute or two, transfixed as another face overlapped his own. It was Yuki's. He stumbled back, shaking involuntarily as it replayed oh so quickly in his brain, drowning everything else around him in an abyss of colour and images.

_Fire._

"She's going down to Chijou!

Hisoka's panicked voice rang through the room from where he fled. He ran in haste, pushing Tsuzuki aside, past Watari who got flustered and almost spilled his new concoction over him, and finally running into Tatsumi who just came from a room and into the hall, making them fall over. Panting, with no explanation or whatsoever, Hisoka pushed himself from the fall, not minding that excruciating fact that he broke his wrist due to the angle his hand was in when he fell; he flew out the Shinigami office and prayed to all the gods there ever was to help him ; and could they please bless him with their unrelenting guidance? God knows what she'll do. He just hopes that she'll be there when it happens.

"Hisoka! Wait!"

Tsuzuki regained his balance as Hisoka pushed his way past Watari when all of a sudden, his head felt like it was going to split in half. The sensation was too much that he had to support himself with the window sill. He grabbed hold of it and spared himself from toppling over. Eyes shut, his left hand groped for something, anything, since his right hand was slipping from its hold on the sill; when he felt nothing, he opened his eyes (with much effort) and realised that his hand was numb. And that he was on the floor, immobilised. Watari, startled maybe by the way Tsuzuki's face contorted or by the way he was sitting; rushed by his side, mumbling something.

Wait.

He wasn't mumbling. He was yelling.

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**3**

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At first she really thought that being a Shinigami would help her find her missing brother's soul, which was hopeless since, as they informed her afterwards, they didn't get any reports of a blue-eyed, black-haired, medium built, and sickly soul that just died. After her training, she finally knew who and where the Lord of Judgement and Afterlife was, and she almost marched her stubborn ass there and demanded answers to her questions. She thought about it before going there, and when her trainer, (she swears she was older than she looked) told her full information about the God of Death, well... let's just say she wasn't that eager to die again so she cancelled her plans of getting _acquainted_ with the god.

There are other things to worry about, like for example, Shijiku Suki's death. Sure, Suki could be ruthless and cold at times, but she was the sweetest person she has ever met when she was still alive. She wasn't like any kid; she was mature in a way. And her life being wasted like this, ended and not given the opportunity to live longer to at least try and change, she blamed it all to one person, and him alone. It's not like she was blameless, but she stil thinks it was all because of him. Suki wouldn't die if he looked after her well. Ai wouldn't die if Kori told her the truth from the beginning. One act clears up another; the rowld is made up of Dominoes, when one fas down, it knocks the other. Chain reaction, in other words. If she kills Kori, she'll get suspended, or worse, she'll be sent on, whether she likes it or not. So she'd rather hurt him with her words and ask him a few questions and why, oh why did he let Suki die? Was he out of his mind?! She needed to calm down if she wanted to work as a Shinigami longer. She walked the rest of the way to the apartment her so-called 'uncle' was. She felt her Magnum, at her back, the one she slipped in when no ones looking before she took off. She was sure Hisoka almost had a fit. She was as sure as a man who was about to land on his head from jumping twenty stories high off a building. Enough of these ideas, she needed to clear her mind from any other distraction, (like the one with Kori hanging upside down over the ocean; he's deathly afraid of drowning) so she wouldn't lose her temper when he denies everything. Again.

Hot, burning tears fell from her eyes. She blocked Hisoka's panicked calls and Tsuzuki somehow ended his abruptly... That she suspected much. Which was weird. She held her tongue from cussing in different languages at the top of her lungs, but "Salope..." escaped before she knew it. Her pace was steady, determination surging through every muscle and sinew in her body, her face mirroring the emotions that she felt. It was the same visage she knew all too well as the mask on which she killed masses of people. She climbed the stairs; those creaking bars and worn down floors and walls, the musty smell growing familiar to her senses as she proceeded to her destination. She needs to talk to him. She arrived, finally, and as she knocked on his door, as it swung open, as the owner began to say his greetings, she slapped him on the face.

Hard.

Hisoka was barely breathing while he ran past the crowded streets of Chijou. His hand had healed minutes ago, and oh, if it weren't for the impending doom that would cascade on the whole human race any minute, he wouldn't even be running. Why can't he just let her be, you ask? He needs to run after her, you know. Do you want to die? After all she did last year? Hell, he's not going to risk it again. Need he remind you that she was the one who almost wiped out the whole of Kyoto? _Remind me to kill my sweet and adoring little child. Remind me to actually strangle her after I get her back from Chijou_ He told his ruthless and cold part of him with dark humour. She might as well hide in her little nook somewhere in Paris, yes, Paris, where she goes to on weekends when she's not spending time with them at breakfast, lunch and dinner, leaving without a trace and not s ingle word for them. It was a surprise, and a shocking one too, why Enma did not suspend her himself. He never understood that kid. Tsuzuki did. And they got along pretty well. It puzzles him, though, because she really couldn't say anything else regarding her family to him. She only confides to Tsuzuki about things in the office, and of course, coffee and sweets. They never heard anything regarding last year's incident. Never did he hear her cry. Never did he _see_ her cry. She locked herself up, that much he could sense. She's hurt, he knows, but she prefers to stay quiet. Just like him, Tsuzuki reasoned; she needs time to ready herself to face the truth. Yeah right. he knew the truth when he first opened his eyes to death! And he is death, in the mere essence of it. How does it feel to be like her? To be so ruined? They locked him up, yes, but to know that everyone had deceived you? Maybe it was beyond her coping, beyond her understanding. He for one, knew that everyone hated him, so naturally, at first it was a shock. But it no longer mattered, since he did hate them too after the whole process. But you know, he may have loved his mother, if any, but still. He doesn't know. For her, it came as not just a shock, but something more grave, like being incinerated alive. Oh, and silence. You know how silence can drive you to madness? Leave a person in a room with nobody with him to talk to, nothing to interact with even a watch, and see how he goes insane. It's one of the worst kinds of torture, when you really think about it. You'd wish you could die if you were isolated. Sardonically, that's what she said. She just looked at him, with her soiled clothes and her mane of white-silver stained with blood that night. (He fought the images of Muraki that threatened to swarm his sight back then.) Smiling, she asked for some paper towels when they got to the office, went home, and she just drowned herself in the showers.

He loves the kid, and more than anything else, they adopted her unofficially as a child, him and Tsuzuki, even if they know that she is already under their jurisdiction given by Kachou the day she arrived. Now he thinks it was too early to adopt a child. But she is in need of a family, and he knows that's what she wanted more than anything, and it doesn't take a psychiatrist to know that. . . And now he sounds like a mother rambling about her kids. They do try to make her understand that they love her, and she knows they do, but there is just that barrier between them that is like the Veil of Silence, or so he quotes from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. She would just be there, and not truly say anything close to what she really wanted to say. Like how Gabrielle is to Lestat. There is just something in between that they could never penetrate. If she was a fledgling, (bloody book gave them ideas and they were compelled to read it ever since. They figured 'The Vampire Lestat' might have something that could help them understand her, since it was her favourite) she could have gone away and found her a coven. The kid has dreams, but they never were fulfilled. She died young. Tsuzuki said it was because of too much love that she had broken herself with. And too much love is pain.

Love? So Pain is Love, and Love is Pain. And his mother and Muraki loved him.

Currently, now that he was running aimlessly through the empty park, he realised that he was indeed running aimlessly through the empty park and he was looking like a fool now that he was standing there, contemplating whether he should go back, wait for her and endure the consequences of her stupidity, (excuse the demeaning words, he really didn't wish to state it like that, but. . . bear with him) or find her and try to not strangle her and bring her back himself. If he does wait, tomorrow would be yesterday and the 50 of the population that breathed before they faced a terrible fate due to her lack of common sense and rational thinking, would be brainwashed and sucked dry of anything they mentally possessed. She was that good with her--ahem--abilities. But she swears, that it was more like a burden rather than a gift, she told him once. And she hated it. She scorned it. She didn't even want to use it. She just wanted the voices to stop buzzing at the back of her brain before she convinces herself that she was suffering from schizophrenia.

He veered to the left and headed for the street. He hated the crowd as much as he hates the next guy who will try to give him the once over, but now was the time to fall on his knees and beg her to stop whatever she was going to do. He would be having headaches when he gets home and all, but he plunged into the mob despite it.

This must be a joke, Ai thought, and she had good reasons to prove that it should be. First of all, Kori lived alone, not with an old geezer with glasses. Secondly, she knows how Kori's mind works, and he wouldn't seriously have a relationship with someone as old as that. It doesn't matter what the gender of the person is, it's just that... the guy's too old! And Kori likes younger ones. Thirdly, Kori had a lot of things in his little apartment. So Ai must admit, even if it was impossible, it was a pretty good joke. Well, she will try to convince herself that it was just a joke. She stood in the door way blinking owlishly from the old geezer she had just slapped and was currently on the floor, and the empty spaces in the room. Or so it seems it was empty. She maybe imagining things. She looked at the person who was now standing up and was fixing his suit with ire obvious from the way he scowled at his glasses, which he hurriedly put on the bridge of his nose. _Last time I checked this room was occupied by Kori. Now where did he go? _She asked herself silently. The man waited, his gaze unchanging, (which was unnerving, by the way) his hands clasped politely in front of his slacks and a red angry mark of a hand still on his left cheek. She felt a bit guilty when she saw it. She had hit him pretty hard, since she thought he was Kori. _It's his fault for being here anyway. _Ai frowned, glanced at the floor as if it will give her answers, then turned around. _I'll turn around, close the door behind me, then I'll knock and open it._ That she did immediately, half afraid that the scene inside wouldn't change and half afraid that she'll self-combust due to mortification if that weren't Kori's apartment. She closed the door with a thud and checked the silver-plated metal numbers screwed on the front of the wooden door. Number fourteen, the door said. _Okay, still the same number. One and four._ She knocked hurriedly, then opened the door. The man was still standing patiently waiting as if it was for her that he was standing there.

"Okay... I'll go with this..." She muttered to herself, pretty sure her eyesight was deceiving her. The man, she observed, had greying hair and a thin line for a mouth, which, she thought with some amusement, could disappear if it was pressed together more tightly. If he were younger and good-looking, she could have sworn he was Tatsumi's relative. The air around him, Ai detected, held something like superiority and authority, though still something like a servant. Okay, that was harsh, maybe a secretary? He raised bushy eyebrows at her and cleared his throat. She tried really hard not to give in the temptation of reading the man's mind, even though it buzzed at the back of her brain. No, it was an understatement. It screamed at the back of her brain. Quite angrily too. It was amazing how he was still holding on to his face.

His patience had obviously left him alone when he sighed and said, "When his excellency said that you were stubborn and aggressive, I didn't expect you to be _this _aggressive." The man said, his tone neither cold nor kind. He now held a folder in his hand, as thick as the unabridged version of Webster's dictionary she saw in the public library in California; but the man carried it like it was as light as a sheet of paper.

"Nothing to say? I expected you to be more eloquent." He sniffed and gave her a challenging look.

"Look here, you asshole; I don't know what you want, or what you're doing here, but I am not going to dilly-dally," Ai said indignantly. She inadvertently reached for her Magnum tucked at the back of her jeans. "Where's my uncle?"

"I shudder with fear, little girl; as if threatening words and bullets could kill me. You're mortal mind is still young and you are nothing but another insolent----" The man was abruptly cut off when Ai pulled out her Magnum with her right hand and pointed it directly to his heart.

"Kill you? Who said anything about killing you? It won't kill you, yes, but it would hurt you. What if I burrow this bullet in your brain instead?" Ai asked rather coldly. "Then maybe you wouldn't be this dysfunctional. I believe I asked you a question? Weren't you the one babbling about intelligence and eloquence?"

The man merely laughed at her. "I do not know what or why the Lord asked for you, but with all due respect, If I were him I wouldn't even glance at you----"

"And if I were you, I will keep my tongue and not test my patience." A satiny voice resounded through the walls, it seems, and it caught Ai's attention immediately. The voice was calm, peaceful, warm. It was as if every syllable said was the tinkling of the chimes in the air, like waterfalls cascading from a cliff. But at the same time, it was frighteningly overwhelming. It echoed with a low rumbling that could have been Satan's voice if she weren't fascinated by it. A gust of wind blew through the curtain-less window and the door shut close behind her; her breathing became shallow as she waited for the blow that never came. She forgot about the man who immediately fell to his knees and bowed low, in shame it seemed. Ai whipped her head back and forth, from the windows to the walls to the empty rooms beyond the living room she was standing in, their doors closing without a sound. Her eyes grazed every corner, searching for the voice. A small laugh rang in her ear, and she turned to look for the source. She was turning around and around, yearning for the laughter and asking for more, hungry to see if the face of that person was as beautiful as its voice, but half afraid of its intensity. She didn't notice the swirl of elements, of silken clothing and white hair; of the suddenly visible and iridescent draft that grazed her skin, which came out from a point where there was once nothing. Her skin prickled and the sudden throng of power emanated from where that swirl was. The threads of the very fabric that wove magic with life and the elements vibrated and intertwined with hers. A bright light came from nowhere; it constricted her pupils and she had to shut them close to block out the blinding light.

"My dear, dear Shinigami...open your eyes..." A voice probed her senses. The sweet smell of flowers and the exhilarating scent of spices... the aroma of death and life... the _thud-thud_ of power... the ringing of chimes and Hell's Bells... all this she registered, but she could not bring her eyes to open. _"My dear child, open your eyes and look at me."_ It was in her brain. Try as she could, she was too overwhelmed and she bowed her head as if it would help get rid of the afterimages of the bright light. All of a sudden, her mind's eye opened, and there sitting on a silk covered tatami, where the walls and the barren floor had been before, was the most beautiful and exquisite person/man/entity she had ever seen in both her living and dead life. His skin was snowy-white, eyes of pure gold, a mane of white hair spilling over his shoulders, and an aura blazing with power. She could not see his face that much; the vision was too blurry, but his eyes gleamed with honest kindness. Her eyes still shut, Magnum forgotten on the floor, she tried to say something but her voice was lost and she could only utter a small gasp. There was a squeak; and there in her mind, she saw the man with the greying hair, head bent over, his head touching the floor, and it seemed that he had changed, now sporting a long yukata of plain white. "My Lord... Praises and adulation..." Said entity ignored him and directed his attention to Ai instead.

"My dear Shinigami, open your eyes." At an instant, Ai opened her eyes, and found the view horrifyingly gorgeous. A silent voice, which she recognised as her own, asked a question: _Are you going to just stand here, eyes wide, mouth agape?_ And indeed, she just stood there, mouth agape, confusion marring her soft features. There was no mistaking the subsistence; the mind that engulfed her own mind with its laughter and its soothing voice. Uncertainty robbed her of everything else as she stared in brief horror and admiration at the entity that smiled back at her.

_'Yes dear child, yes._'

"Oh dear Enma...Lord Enma-Daioh" She whispered in disbelief.

**4**

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"Tsuzuki, get a hold of yourself!" Watari scrambled, abandoning his worry for his concoction and rushing to Tsuzuki's aid. Tsuzuki was on the floor; his legs spread. His arms lying limply by his sides. Blood was slowly trickling down his temples. Watari took his hand and checked his pulse. It was barely there. He checked his breathing; it was too shallow. Tsuzuki's irises rolled to the corners, looking at Watari in alarm "Tsuzuki, what happened?!" Watari was absolutely and positively not thinking straight as he tried to make Tsuzuki respond.

Agony flickered through those heliotrope eyes. Try as he might, Tsuzuki can't will his mouth to open and speak. He pleaded with his eyes, and Watari realised something.

Tsuzuki's eyes darted forward, and Watari tried to get his attention, calling him to help himself since an immobile person is harder to support than a well person, but Tsuzuki seemed not to notice. His pupils were dilating in and out, his breathing getting shallower every second that passed.

"Can you hear...Oh no... No, no, no, no, no! Tsuzuki, don't!" All Tsuzuki could think of saying to Watari was, _I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm gonna pass out..._ And he did.

_"Open your eyes..."_

_White was the colour that blinded him as he opened his eyes. Blinking to get rid of the afterimages that swarmed his sight, he groped for something to lean on since he realised that he was tilting slowly... No... Wait... That wasn't right._

_He was floating._

_Wondering why he was floating, he asked the owner of the voice that earlier prodded him awake. "Where am I?" He asked rather stupidly. No one answered him, of course, but there was a consistent buzzing sound from somewhere behind him. Or around him. Or somewhere above him, or under, or maybe it was inside of him. Uh, should it really matter? He shuddered. Wherever he is,it was giving him the creeps. It was like something or someone was watching him, but wasn't really there, or wasn't really watching him. The place he was in was scary enough and empty enough to send someone to a mental hospital, but he ignored the sudden madness. He concentrated on finding a way out of that. . . place. . . he wasn't sure if it were a maboroshi, because he would know; or if it was a simple connection of the brain through the telekinetic waves, which was impossible since Hisoka or Ai wasn't there. Either Hisoka's empathy rubbed off on him, or Ai had managed to conjure something in her head to finally let them find her. Either was impossible, and so he gave up on the thought. Ironically, he thought of Watari, if the blond was panicking now because he (and he's very sure he did) vanished from the office and went to some freaky place where a devil might have been tormenting him or something. He smiled despite the situation; he stood up straight, his feet not really touching anything, and he tried to walk. His first step met an invisible force; it let him switch his weight to his left foot, and he tried another step. Until he was very sure that he wasn't going to fall into a chasm of never-ending light and white blankness, he tread to look for at least a way to get out of there. Of course, there wouldn't be any doors that had a sign over it that says: "Hey stupid, here's the exit!" but he could look for the source of the buzzing. And try not to go insane. Or maybe shout until his throat went raw. Or. . . or. . . let's stick with insane._

_A gust of wind came from nowhere suddenly which knocked the breath out of him. The buzzing grew louder and it turned into a screeching noise; it was so loud that it almost shattered his eardrums. He squirmed as he tried to block it out, and he covered his ears, but that proved to be a failure since the screeching wasn't coming from around him, it was coming from inside his head. **Maybe I should just jump and see whether it'll make me get anywhere.**__ He thought sardonically as he doubled over, feeling sick of the nausea the sound brought._

_As sudden as the sound came, it went away as quick. He uncovered his ears and looked around. Nothing changed though. **So much for the pain...**___

_"My dear child, open your eyes and look at me..." The voice pleaded again. Ack, who was that creepy person? That voice was too. . . dark. Yet it was too. . .mellow, too satiny. . . too. . .angelic. . ._

_He gasped; the walls darkened as a figure came into being. The field of white changed into a room of screaming red. Blood red. Then dark blue. Yellow. White. Black. The figure gleamed in the darkness and everything was white again. And the whole cycle of colours began again, swirling past his eyes that he wasn't sure that he was still standing. Before nausea could take a good grip of him and make him puke his lunch, the tornado of colours stopped and it was just the barren whiteness that stayed with him._

_"Yes child, yes." The sweet voice said again. A hand appeared in front of him, and he looked up just to find himself staring in the eyes of a god. He looked deeply in the eyes of the Lord of Death, Judgement, and the Afterlife. The Great Deity himself, Lord Enma-Daioh._

_"Oh dear Enma... Lord Enma-Daioh..." He whispered in disbelief._

__

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Tatsumi shuffled past the Gushoushins who entered the hall when he heard Watari screaming helplessly from the room where Hisoka had been. It was something like, "No, no, no, no, no." Kachou, who decided to appear just now, stopped him midway and surprised him; he had to catch himself to cease his fall again. "What is happening here?" Kachou's face was turning purple with rage as Watari's voice ceased to stop. There was a certain edge in his voice that could make anyone else squirm. But, Tatsumi, calm and collected as always, didn't even flinch. Even as Kachou pinned him with a death glare.

"Kachou, Ai is in Chijou," Was Tatsumi's quiet reply. "I'm afraid it's because of Shijiku Suki."

"I was afraid you'd say that. Did she say anything before she left?" Kachou's hand went up to his forehead and there it massaged the space in between his bushy brows.

"Sir?" Tatsumi asked with an inquiring frown.

"I knew something like this would happen, but I took my chance of taking the case anyway. It's just that the other divisions needed help. . ." Kachou's voice trailed off.

"But sir, what now?" His fears were yet to come.

Kachou gazed out the window and watched the sakura blossoms drifring silently with the wind, cascading on the floor and covering it like a blanket. He sighed a very pained sigh and closed his eyes. Tatsumi waited patiently until Kachou opened his eyes again.

"You were there, Tatsumi, when Enma called us. You should know," Kachou turned on his heels to reach out for a folder. He handed it to Tatsumi who stared at it with understanding following his confusion. "If worst comes to worst, I might just do it."

"But sir--she doesn't know anything! She needs the two of--" Kachou raised a hand to silence him. HE looked at him mournfully and nodded.

"We should. We can't do anything else,"

It took a while for tatsumi to regain his composure and find his voice. "If we must," He answered the statement that didn't require one but felt the need to. He was about to say something again when a scream erupted from somewhere behind him and it took him a while to realise that it was Watari's panicked shouts that was calling his name desperately. Kachou's forehead creased into a look of worry and followed Tatsumi as he ran to Watari.

The room was almost quiet; if it wasn't for the steady screeching noise still in her head. She felt something trickling down the side of her face down to her neck. She was afraid to wipe it off her face, but she was sure that the deity wouldn't mind. She quickly brought her hand to her cheek, and wiped off what she thought was sweat, which turned out to be blood. _Oh._ She thought. _Of all the times to bleed to near death, why now?_ She stared at her hand for a second and wondered, how was it possible to bleed when all she did were slap a man and stand in front of a god? She then remembered the whirlpool of elements, the swarm of colours, the buzzing that was in her head. She was cloaking herself from Tsuzuki, and from Hisoka as well. That was why her... she touched her ear... ears were bleeding? From the screeching sound? Or more likely, the power the deity had unleashed. She had this thing, with people and strong auras, just as how Hisoka had his empathy. One onmyouji like Muraki-sensei, requires a strong barrier for her, because he was that strong, and she didn't just know about it, she would feel it, would see it, and hear it. Just like how a dog would be able to take up sounds inaudible to us. That's how she would hear it. Hear it to the extent of making her eardrums bleed if she doesn't focus. She first found out about it when she first encountered Shinigamis, after she died. When she was mortal, she did feel it, but it didn't affect her as much as it did when she became a Shinigami. Her trainer proved it to her. In the most excruciating way. Now, if Muraki required a strong barrier, what of a god? She was even surprised that she hadn't collapsed yet, and that her ears bled only a little.

She glanced at the man who was still quivering on the floor, beside the god. She could not help assume a grin on her face. Just when she was about to laugh at the man, she quickly remembered that she was still standing and she was all the while not paying respects. She quickly bent her knees and sat on the floor, bending over just as how the man was positioned. She silently berated herself and wished she could die then and there.

"My Lord Enma, I am honoured to have your presence today," She whispered to the floor. She was afraid that if she said it out loud, or if she said it casually, he would think she was mocking him. And she was afraid that her words were not that formal. She sat up straight and looked up at the god.

The god smiled at her, and glanced at his servant, commanding him, "Stand up," Immediately, the servant in the white yukata stood up and nervously awaited for his next command. "Kneel before me." He did so, hurriedly, setting a few paces to Ai's left and bending over like before.

"I told you to bring her to me, did I not?" Enma-Daioh asked him with a calm demeanour.

"Yes, my Lord," He squeaked. Ai watched him closely. He was really scared. He was trembling from head to toe, and she suspected that he was going to self-combust any minute now.

"I told you to bring her immediately to me, did I not?" The god stared at him with cold eyes.

"Yes my Lord, but----" Though Ai did not understand the situation, she tried, but still she could not grasp a theory. But when the god asked him what he commanded him to do, she whipped her head to the direction of the god. Why did he want him to bring her? What for? What had she done? She only wanted to torture her uncle for letting Suki die... her heart sank. She remembered the very first things Tatsumi told her when she arrived. Rule #1: Never ever be involved with humans unless assigned a case. Further recollection of those first few days was abandoned as the god burst out at the imoudence of his servant.

"Silence!" The god bellowed. "I did not tell you to give me a reason!"

"I am sorry, my Lord."

"Did I tell you that you could voice your opinions to my Shinigami?" It was impressive how someone could control his voice that easy. Well, what do you expect of a god, anyway? Ai mused. She caught herself and she ceased her smiling..

"No my Lord,"

"Then why did you have to antagonise my Shinigami?"

"I apologi----"

"Answer the question!" She observed how the god's face looked ugly and beautiful at the same time. She marvelled at it, but she didn't seem to mind it at all. His voice rang with Hell's Bells, with chimes, his skin gleamed, too pale; his long golden hair, silver and white, spilled over his shoulders and his clothes were of immaculate silk and gold trimmings.

"I was not able to control myself, your majesty, and I apologise for my behaviour. It will not happen again." He squeaked once again, and the folder he earlier carried was clutched tightly underneath him as he answered every question.

There was a long pause, and when she thought she could try and at least make conversation with the god, to maybe, you know, ask a few questions, the floor gave way underneath her, and she got sucked in another one of those whirlpools that mixed everything around her like a tornado. _Not again. Hell no!_ She cried in her head. She gasped, and choked, and she tried to keep her eyes open. The air was carrying her, she was turning around and round, and she tried to look for Enma-Daioh, but she couldn't see him. Everything was too fast, it was making her dizzy, and she could only hear a faint buzzing again, and she shut her eyes, covered her ears, as a thousand other voices shattered her barriers and the sound of a thousand minds screamed at her. She had to put up another barrier fast if she didn't want to pass out. But it was too strong that the voices of a thousand voices from the building chattered in her head; the millions of thousands of people washed over her, and the voices of a hundred employees laughed and screamed in her brain. It was so terrible, that she couldn't even hear her own screaming voice.

_"Make it stop, please!"_ It was only a whisper.

**5**

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"Come on, pick up, pick up..."

He was twisting the napkin so bad, he wasn't aware that it was about to rip in half. He was waiting for Yuki to pick up his damn phone and he wished he could at least talk to him even for a minute or two. The receiver resting on his left shoulder and his hands dropping said napkin, he reached over the bar for another one. He also fought the urge to hit his head on the bar table. Which was stringer than he thought when he looked at the table. Maybe it was a good idea. He felt a pair of eyes watching him. He glanced at the guy who was staring at him for the last minute and he gave him an irritated glare over his dark shades. He shifted the shades higher up his nose (because he can't go waltzing in anywhere with nothing but his clothes on, since he is a rock star, you know). He really can't blame the guy, since he was (and this Shuichi thought in despair), after all, sitting there on the bar stool with a dozen or so twisted napkins and was pushing the buttons of the phone with so much force that the bartender threatened to take it away fom him. Why was he so devoted to love?_ Sucker, moron, idiot..._ He told himself. _Why oh why did you fall in love with a guy named Yuki?_

"What're you looking at?" He snapped at the man who was staring at him and continued dialing Yuki's number.

"That's the last call you're going to make," The bartender told him, as he strode over to him. He put a bottle of vinegar beside Shuichi's right elbow and started to clear the table of the napkins that littered it. "Are you sure this thing's gonna do anything to you?" He looked at the vinegar, doubtful. Shuichi, who ordered it, nodded his head in haste. "Yes." Shuichi said, absent-mindedly.

"Anymore of those calls, and that phone will explode." The bartender smiled at Shuichi.

Shuichi finally placed the receiver back on its hook and pushed the phone aside as he smiled sadly at the bartender. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to check on someone..." He let his sentence hanging.

"Special? Well, that girl's pretty lucky to have you caring about her like that," The bartender said as he threw the napkins in the wastebasket under the counter. He leaned over and placed his arms on the counter top to get a better look at Shuichi. "And I must say, she has... some taste in guys..." He glanced at Shuichi's red hair. Shuichi unconciously brought up his hand to his hair and grinned sheepishly. He mumbled something and bowed his head. "What? I didn't catch what you said." The bartender frowned through his black locks.

"I said, I didn't exactly say that it was a 'she'..." Shuichi looked away, sighing.

The bartender blinked at him a few times before the information registered in his brain. "Oh." He said, eyebrows up. "Oh." He said again, frowning a little. _"Ohhh"_ He then said as he finally understood. Shuichi was blushing ferociously and shifted his shades higher on the bridge of his nose. He waited for the sheepish reply and the nervous and slightly disgusted tone of voice the bartender will say. But he wasn't ready for the next thing he said.

"That's cool with me, dude! Oh come on, don't blush on me, it's not as if I was born yesterday you know. I'm not the conservative and the cultured type," He patted the shocked Shuichi and grinned. Shuichi stared, wide-eyed, shades slightly askew as he jerked his head up to see if the bartender was just exagerrating. But he wasn't. "If its any consolation, I'm in a similar relationship myself."

Now it was Shuichi's turn to say "Oh." He smiled nervously at the bartender. "_Oh._ I'm glad." The bartender thoughtfully frowned at him. "I just wish he were as...how should I say it...caring as you are." Shuichi blushed furiously again. "Hey, hey, I could only take so much blushing for one day, give me a break. " He chuckled.

"Uhm... I don't know whether I should be pleased or not," Shuichi said guiltily. The bartender gave him a quizical look. "I mean, I think I'm obsessed with him... I think he's avoiding me because I'm too obsessed."

"Nonsense! He should be lucky! You're here and he's... Where is he, anyway?"

"Tokyo." Shuichi grabbed the neck of the bottle and took a swig.

"See? You're all the way here, and he's in Tokyo... and you're still calling him just to check up on him." The man who was earlier staring at him stood up and they just looked at him. He was and old man, as Shuichi observed as he walked away, with greying hair and faded clothes of denim and cotton. He left his drink, only half consumed, and the bartender shrugged. "Conservative old fool." Shuichi raised his eyebrows at his comment. "He's been spending his nights here for the past week and doesn't talk much. Whenever there're teenagers around, talking about life and sex and stuff, he walks away. Unlike us youngsters, we know better than to judge a person and we didn't grow up in a society as cultured as theirs..." He explained.

"I agree." Shuichi beamed at him. He took another swig and watched as the bartender walked over to the otherside of the bar and placed the glass in the sink. When he turned around, Shuichi gave him the once-over. The bartender was young, maybe twenty-three or so, with black hair and not-so-pale skin. Medium built, at least 5'6 or 5'7 in height; he stared at his eyes and noticed they were black. He only realized that he was staring at him when the bartender chuckled and spoke up.

"I see that you're giving me an evaluation. Did I pass your test?" Shuichi bowed his head and blushed once more. "Oh please, come on, Shindou-san, don't blush all over me again..." he pleaded, exasperation in his voice. "So... did I pass the test?"

"Oh? Uh... well... yes..." Shuichi said. Then it hit him. "How did you know my name?" he asked nervously. If this bartender knows, then... he glanced around him. There are one, two... three people in the room; one of them an old couple and a stressed-out businessman sitting in his chair with a cup of untouched coffee on the table beside him as he read the latest about the Stock market. Well, they seemed not to notice anyway, so he was safe.

"Well, your hair," The bartender pointed out. "Is red, and I recognized your voice right away. A faithful fan knows his idols." He smiled, crossing his arms over his chest and walking over to stand in front of Shuichi.

"You do?" Blink, blink.

"Yes. Your albums are played in non-stop repeat in my CD player. Music videos of your songs are played everyday." The bartender said, as if it was so obvious.

"That's... great..." Shuichi smiled as he drank the rest of his drink. "Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me. I won't tell you're in the building." The bartender gave him a wink.

Yuki Eiri was relieved to find out that he had passed his story in time to his editor. What he wasn't relieved about was the fact that he wasn't getting enough sleep because of (besides Shuichi) his work. He was barely eating right and he still had that nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach he couldn't get rid of. He tried, really, to actually ignore it, but the more he ignored it, the more it got worse. He was dreaming things too. He was dreaming of long, page-by-page, chapter-by-chapter dreams. When he takes a nap. Whenever he takes a nap, he starts dreaming, even when he nods for a minute or two, he would dream of a at least 30 minutes worth of airtime on television. And he still has to figure it out because it was some kind of story, as he looked back at it; and they weren't in order. The most recent, the weirdest, and the most disturbing dream was of a boy with ebony hair and ice-blue eyes. Scratch that. The wierdest, most disturbing dream was of the most beautiful, most captivating (_with the exception of Shuichi..._ and so Yuki thought) boy with ebony hair and ice-blue eyes. He shuddered at the thought.

It repeated itself the whole day. Even when he spaced out for a few seconds. It repeated itself for so many times, that he lost count. He could even relive every detail in his head if he weren't overwrought on it.

The dream would start out as it started out the first time that day. There would be that boy with the black hair and the ice-blue eyes. My, he would wonder, how beautiful he is, even though his face wasn't hat clear to him. He would stand there. And then, he would see another boy with crimson hair and blue eyes, and they would face each other. They would merge, and they would approach him. He will try to run,but of course, they will catch him and then he would drop to the floor, writhe in pain. A flash of light, then there were flames. Poof! There would be another voice screaming for him, but he couldn't see it. Then his dream would come to an abrupt ending. The above was just summarized for the whole thing started and consisted of various buildings, places, and a lot of green grass and blue skies.

He dropped his keys on the mahogany coffee table and relaxed on the sofa. He ignored the fact that he had left his phone on the coffe table to, along with other odds and ends he accumulated for the past few weeks. He ignored it to savour the softness of the sofa. The big black sofa. The big black sofa that witnessed their reveries, their dreary and scintillating palavers, their arguments, their reconcilliations, their ups and downs. Basically their everyday life. The big black sofa would always find Shuichi lazing down in it; and he would... agh, he should stop it. He should stop thinking of Shuichi or else he'll go crazy. There was just something in Shuichi that made him feel all right... And secure, in a way... And he felt ashamed to be so weak. He, who hid in his nutshell of impenetrable chaos and self-destruction; he who was cold as ice and whose words shattered the feeble-minded and watched them fall and crumble in the dirt; he who needed their weakness to sustain his ego... He needed them, as much as they needed him to make them face reality. But he was ashamed to say and admit that he was just like them: the weakling who hid in himself. So he needed Shuichi. Shuichi, whose weakness made him see his own; Shuichi who was strong as he faced them. He loathed Shuichi as much as he loved him. How could one be so weak, be so strong, for him? How could one be so different from him, could bring him happiness? Why? Why had he turned him into this lovesick lenanshee? To make the banter short and precise (if one would call it precise), he was having a Shuichi-withdrawal. Yes, a Shuichi-withdrawal.

He closed his eyes, not even minding the skies that penetrated his vision. He didn't even try to stop the dream from unveiling itself. He welcomed it, in a resigned manner, as he saw the green hills and green grass that rolled through a never-ending canvas of mist. The lonely twittering of the birds and the low grumble of the engines that passed by; the smooth petals of the flowers that hung in his path.

It would be almost perfect, he thought, if Shuichi was there. But he wasn't. He continued to dream, and wait until the nightmare comes again. The wind was blowing fiercely now, and what he saw next made him scream and jerk wide awake. In his dream. He stumbled back, and he felt the carpet underneath him. There was that same boy; his ice-blue eyes changing into a warmer shade, and his ebony hair turning into the shade of crimson hair his only beloved possessed.

In his dream, the storm continued. But he lay motionless on the carpeted floor of his haven He stirred not, even when that same ghostly white skin grabbed his throat and wrenched his head up, cupping his chin fiercely and swooping down to catch his craving lips in a bitter-sweet kiss.

Not even when a shadow cast itself on his limp form, and traced loving hands all over his face and lips, pushing back naughty locks of wheat-gold hair that dare obscure his lovely face; all the while smiling wryly and whispering an addendum of admiration. Not even when that hand exposed the flesh of his chest to parted lips, and the hungered tongue flicked out to taste sweet, hot skin.

The evening embraced him with fervour; the moonlight highlighting his features. Hiro and Fujisaki had arrived a few hours ago, if you call five o'clock to eleven o'clock few. He sat and savoured the cool wind that blew away the leaves from the distant trees and carried the whispers and secrets of night-time dwellers kissing in the semi-darkness and the little world of their own. He envied them, as much as he envied all couples. It wasn't as if he wasn't content in his relationship with the aforementioned writer... it was just... a bit hard for him to deal with someone like Yuki. But he tries, really. It's been a few years since they got together, and he was glad they even made it that long. He loathed Yuki's presence, as much as he wanted it. Yuki was the character he never was. And he had to smile at that. Yuki was everything to him. Yuki might not say those words of devotion, but Shuichi feels his love, and that was enough. It would be nice to hear those words from Yuki himself. It was assuring in a way.

Continuing his reverie of sorts, he shifted in his seat, namely the comforter of his bed. He glanced back at Hiro, who was snoozing contently. Hiro wasn't a loud sleeper, he just wanted to empty his mind and refrain himself from falling asleep. For the past few days, he had been dreaming of the same dream that repeated itself whenever he fell asleep. Even when he closed his eyes, an image of a black haired boy with blue eyes that (frighteningly) looked like Yuki's own cold ones. No, no, Yuki's eyes were not blue, they were somewhat on the line of gold and very, very light brown eyes. Kind of like hazel, but lighter. And colder.

His legs brought up to his chest, clutching his hands to keep it warm, chin resting on his knees, he sighed a lingering sigh. He cocked his head to the side a little, staring at the blinking stars. He wanted to call Yuki, but Yuki wasn't answering his phone. Maybe because he was getting irrtiated. But why would he be? He called the other day and he even offered Shuichi a date. Was it that he just imagined it? Or that Yuki was lying again? Or was he doing something... say...mischievous, like... you know... doing _that_ thing with a nondescript person or something. He brushed his thoughts aside with a shake of his head and sighed once more. He couldn't help it. The strong pull of gravity had brought them together and he couldn't go back and take a step to turn away. He couldn't stop the desire to touch, to taste, to feel those soft lips move ever so slowly with his. He couldn't stop staring deep into his eyes while he asked for the truth, and please, please, could you please tell him the truth? Only the truth, and nothing more... Only the---- he yawned.

Rummaging in his battered brain for more memories, useless things, and impossible scenes of adultery would make him fall asleep, so he tried really hard not to think up an imaginary Yuki moving with orchestrated manuevers in the dark. But the steady whistling of the wind proved that he was no match to it and was lulling him to sleep. The Sandman refused to give up the fight, sprinkling some more of those sand over Shuichi's head, and soon, his eyes closed, and he fell back in a slow motion, a pillow ready to catch his head.

A smile tugged on the lips of the person who placed the pillow underneath Shuichi, and he lay a loving hand on Shuichi's head as he stared with eyes that demystified every inch of detail on the younger boy's face. He laughed softly and his hand hovered slightly over the boy's lips, but he brushed back the boy's locks from his forehead instead.

In the other room, Fujisaki turned in his sleep, and Hiroshi continued dreaming peacefully.

**6**

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The moon was awfully beautiful that night. Two amused eyes blinked in the light as he tread over the grass that seemed to be carrying him rather than him moving on them. There was a small shadow that cast itself beside him, and he smiled as the figure came closer and he continued his silent reverie. His hands were clasped behind his back, his black hair riding with the wind. His form was no longer gaunt but he wasn't bony anymore; he was slender and he had more than just skin hanging on his frame. His blue eys still trapped in the chimera, his thoughts still on his 'boy' and his 'lover'. The silence was broken when the cherubic face peered at him, blue eyes dazed but teasing. The creature was unusualy small, and it was more on the lines femininity even though it was born a hermaphrodite. He should know. He created this said creature. It was his greatest plan, and it would serve him until the very end. He made sure of that. If only his dear, beloved understood. His beloved whom he adored, cherished, served and honored. He wouldn'tve gone rebellious about it. The creature cleared its throat.

"Yes?" He acknowledged, but he never looked at the entity that decided to grace him with its presence. His own eyes of preserved blue twinkled in the semi-darkness, and his face obscured by the shadows. A low "Hmm. . ." escaped his lips and the creature walked a few paces away from him.

"I trust that everything worked out well?" He asked, his voice impeccably soft and tantalizing. His delicate limbs with its preternatural skin glowing with a certain light that would pass for a demigod, a master of the arcane arts. But his appearance could deceive anyone w ho would chance a look on his timeless facade of youth. His beautiful lashes of coal black brushed his cheeks lightly as he blinked expectantly somewhere at the space between the building in front of him and the moon. The sum and substance of a young mortal chuckled; a low rustling of sound that was a simulation of what was real and what was not.

"Master," The voice piped; it was small, high-pitched and it would have passed for a human being's if it weren't for the other voice that seemed to overlap it somewhow being an echo but in its entirety, a voice of a child nonetheless. "Your subjects have been receiving the messages, as you have planned,"

"Very good," The master of the two said, his voice husky, and somewhat amused. He smiled an effortless smile and glanced at his servant. "I trust that they would be ready in a few days?"

"Master, they are stubborn," The creature said, a hint of worry in its voice. "Their instincts refuse your will."

"In a a few weeks, then," He said, his voice unperturbed. "You are dismissed." He languidly averted his gaze and let it fall on the still figure on a balcony, three floors up, two rooms from the right. He smiled wider, his white fangs showing.

"We are going to be ready in a few weeks," He said again, his laughter carrying in on the dark as he gradually disappeared from the moonlight's circle, away from the exposure. The creature in its place vanished literally, with nothing to trace it back from where it once belonged.

The night continued to drift off, and two souls, both grasping for reality, fell deeper in the chasm, always reaching but never touching.

The time was near.

**7**

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Watari and Tatsumi had gathered Tsuzuki up and was now watching over him. Kachou came and left, and he was so pissed, nonetheless worried about the situation at hand. He had to do something so he left. Tsuzuki was lying motionless for a while but he looked awfully gaunt. A shudder ran through his body and Watari checked whether he was still breathing. Fortunately even if death tried to take him for the third time, he wouldn't die because he was naturally stubborn and he has a purpose now. They were really happy when they finally got together. They are now married for two years, and they are genuinley happy with each other. Watari had never seen Tsuzuki so happy before that Watari thought the inu was going to explode. Last year, when Ai first arrived, they couldn't believe their eyes, and they thought Kachou was joking then when he said she was going to be in their division. The Shokan had never been rowdier. Well, before Ai lost her brother and everyone else in her family, the days in the Shokan division were filled with... well... accidents... Most of them was because of her doing. One of them was when Ai 'stumbled' upon them when she was trying to contact Hisoka through her mind. Her two parents were making out in the...uhm... living room... She accidentally told Wakaba, who she knew was trying to get some cute (and kinky) pictures of the couple, that tiny tidbit so she could have her chocolate mousse cake, which made Wakaba do a stakeout with her unwilling partner in crime, who else? Terazuma, of course. Okay, to make it short, she did get some cute (and kinky) pictures of the couple, which the Hokkaido twins found in Wakaba's desk when they were looking for some documents.... which made them run after Hisoka again with some clothes they bought from the mall. When Hisoka asked them why they were doing that again when they promised they were going to leave him alone for at least a month, they told him they found some pictures. Dot, dot, dot. (...) Hisoka asked what pictures? And they led him to Wakaba's desk. He found them, burned them, asked Wakaba how she got those pictures, who in the process squealed on Ai... Who then told him that she 'accidentally stumbled upon' them... Hisoka took out his katana in rage and chased Ai who nearly lost her neck at the time. She had to run to Chijou and hide. Tsuzuki could only stammer and blush. Hisoka didn't talk to her for a week unitl she agreed to wipe out the twins', Wakaba's, and Terazuma's memories of said event. Watari and Tatsumi were spared. Kachou was quiet about the whole ruckus. They wondered why. Their wonder wasn't given any answer.

Ai was their 'child'; the kid wanted a family, they gave her one. She couldn't be more than happy. At least, that's what Watari thought. The year before, when Ai found out that she had lost her brother, and that she had for many years now, she couldn't accept it that she killed off everyone who stood in her way and those who took her brother away. She summoned her powers and... that wasn't relevant now, was it?

Tsuzuki was now shuddering more violently, and Watari had to slap him on the face to wake him up. It worked, to Watari's surprise. He should do that more often. Tsuzuki blinked a few times, and sat up. "What happened?" Tsuzuki asked the awaiting Shinigamis.

"What happened? Aren't we supposed to be the ones to ask you that?" Watari gave him a wry smile. Tsuzuki brought a hand up his hair and frowned. He was in Watari's impromptu room, and he was lying on the makeshift bed, with his clothes mangled, and his head throbbing with agonizing pain.

"My head... it hurts..." He now clasped the sides of his head with his hands and when he looked at Watari, his eyes were glazed over and Watari gasped at what he saw.

"Tatsumi, his eyes are green!" Watari half-shouted in disbelief. "What're you talking about, Watari, his eyes are amethyst...." he trailed off as Tsuzuki faced Tatsumi. Tsuzuki groaned and closed his eyes, clasping the sides of his head again.

"I can't... my head.. Enma... it hurts..." He moaned, and he when he opned his eyes agian, Watari and Tatsumi could see that they were green again. He blinked, and they were amethyst once more. "It hurts..." He groaned louder. The two of them could only watch in horror. They didn't know what to do anyway. Tsuzuki closed his eyes once more, and when he let go of his head, he opned them and they were clear emerald green and he spoke in a voice that wasn't his. If they weren't so mesmerizingly horrified, they wouldn't be standing there, aghast and motionless. They would actually do something rather than stare. Their brains weren't cooperating with them, unfortunately.

_"Make it stop, make it stop! Make it stop, please..."_ Tsuzuki said. It wasn't his voice; it was a girl's devastated voice. Tsuzuki frowned; he blinked and then shook his head a little. Amethyst. Watari cupped his chin and made Tsuzuki face him. "Tsuzuki, can you see me?" He looked closely at Tsuzuki's eyes; they were staring at him, but it was looking past him. Tsuzuki blinked again, opened them slowly;they turned green so suddenly that Watari let go of Tsuzuki's chin.

"Tatsumi, his eyes are green again. They're green again..." Watari said to Tatsumi as he stood up and went to his computer. "I need to go and check it out." But before he could do so, Tatsumi's hand stopped him. "Look," Tatsumi whispered. He turned around and found Tsuzuki lookng at him.

Tsuzuki spoke again. _"I only wished to ask him questions."_ He said, in that high-pitched voice again. Tatsumi listened carefully, and then he realized that it was Ai's voice. It was her voice.

"That's Ai's voice!" Tatsumi said. Watari looked at Tsuzuki again, staring at the green eyes and said, "Then those must be her eyes!" Watari went back to Tsuzuki quickly and took his hands in his. "Ai, are you listening? Can you hear me?"

Maybe it was because of bad timing or karma, or whatever, but Hisoka was not pleased at all at the sight that welcomed him back from the journey he had to endure during rush hour because of a single teenager. A teenager who was nowhere to be seen and was a potential killer now that she was in her Get-Up-And-Kill-Every-Single-Person-That-Comes-In-Your-Way-If-They-Don't-Cooperate phase. The phase explains it. It was like this: first, she sees you, then she shoots you, then you're dead. That's how good you get when you practice hard in sharp-shooting. It gives the phrase, 'Practice makes perfect,' a bad reputation. Hisoka grudgingly opened the door of the Shinigami office, walked past his colleagues and Kachou who was currently yelling at them like a pope in the church scolding students of blasphemy, and rushed to see Tatsumi. He passed a room with its door open, and he caught sight of a person on a bed. Oh. It wasn't just a room. He backtracked and saw Tsuzuki lying on Watari's makeshift bed, in the room adjacent to his laboratory, directly opposite the door. He rushed in, ran to Tsuzuki's side, with Tsuzuki clasping his head as if it was being taken away from him. He was about to say something when Tsuzuki opened his eyes, Watari and Tatsumi watching in horror as his eyes appeared to be green. Green. Wow. When did he wear contacts? Okay, so that didn't work, hell, he needed something to explain this sudden phenomenon. Tsuzuki's eyes do not turn green over a few hours. Hell, nobody's eyes turn into green in a few hours without the help of contact lenses, and they simply do not turn back to amethyst or whatever the damn colour of their eyes was. Yes, the sight that he saw was not very nice. Not good. Not normal! He had three problems now: First, the child, second, the even bigger child, and last, himself. Himself for he might do something cataclysmic if he couldn't help it. Heavens, help him. Really. They should.

"What happened...?" Hisoka whispered at last, mimickng Tatsumi's actions of nearing Tsuzuki. He had come in the room,a dn was staring still at Tsuzuki. His eyes, oh, they were...oh... they were... scary... He pulled on his hari and groaned in agitation. Could it get any worse?

_"I am sorry, I only wanted to..."_

Hisoka wished he shouldn't have thought of 'worse'.

Tsuzuki broke off as he closed his eyes again, and groaned in pain. "Dear Enma," Tsuzuki's own voice said as he tried to pry his finger loose from Watari's hands. "Let go of me, Watari," he said. "My head is..." Watari didn't let go of his hands, and waited. Tsuzuki's body trembled for a while, and there, again, were those same emerald green eyes.

"It's Ai." Tatsumi said, as if it will explain everything. "You didn't find her,did you?"

Hisoka only continued staring at Tsuzuki. "Blood..." Hisoka's voice trailed off as Tsuzuki spoke again.

_"I promise... I promise..."_ He said, pleading. Tsuzuki slipped his hands free, and brought it to his eyes. Watari let him.

_"That I will be good..."_

"Tsuzuki, listen to me, wake up, wake up!" Tsuzuki had collapsed back on the pillow. Hisoka had rushed to him, and had his hands on both sides of Tsuzuki's head. He cupped Tsuzuki's head and pushed back strands of cinnamon hair. He kissed Tsuzuki's lips and Tsuzuki's eyes fluttered open." Please tell me what happened." He whispered.

"'Soka-chan?" Tsuzuki smiled weakly. "What're you doing here?"

"Listen to me, Tsuzuki, you have to tell me what you saw. Where is Ai?"

Tsuzuki smiled in a mystified way, and whispered:

"She's with Enma-Daioh..."

**To be continued**

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Uhm... I promise that I will be good and write a longer chapter (and hopefully, a chapter that doesn't suck) if you promise me that you will review.

I need praises. And a mighty lot of them too.


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